The frere ariseth up ful curteisly,
And hire embraceth in his armes narwe,
And kiste hire sweete, and chirketh as a sparwe
With his lyppes: "Dame," quod he, "right weel,
As he that is youre servant every deel,
Thanked be God, that yow yaf soule and lyf!
Yet saugh I nat this day so fair a wyf
In al the chirche, God so save me!"
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Summoner’s Tale. The Friar embraces Thomas’s wife tightly in his arms, kisses her sweetly and flirts with her. Using a simile, we are told how the Friar chirps like a sparrow to her that he how he had not seen so fair a wife in all the church that day. There is a hint here of the Friar’s sexual interest in Thomas’s wife, forbidden and sinful territory to a churchman who had taken a vow of celibacy.